sales tax

American  

noun

sales taxes plural

1. a tax on receipts from sales, usually added to the selling price by the seller.

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sales tax British  

noun

1. a tax levied on retail sales receipts and added to selling prices by retailers

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sales taxes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sales tax

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sales tax

These prices are likely to continue facing mixed cues, including the situation in the Middle East, a weak yen, government energy subsidies, rising packaging costs, and planned food sales tax cuts, economists say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Connecticut: Clothing and footwear under $300 are exempt from sales tax Aug. 16-22.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

Ohio: Clothing under $75 per item, school supplies under $20 per item and school instructional materials under $20 per item are exempt from sales tax Aug. 7-9.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

Hochul also said she would pursue legislation to repeal sales tax exemptions for massive data centers in the state.

From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026

Meanwhile, Jake scanned the next customer’s items and did the math in his head, remembering to add sales tax to all non-food items.

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein